The Philadelphia Eagles defended their decision to sign free agent Tim Tebow to give the quarterback a chance to redeem himself in the 2015 NFL season.

Tebow, who has not played in the league since appearing in 12 games with the New York Jets in 2012, signed a deal with the Jets on Monday and moved one step closer to playing in the NFL again.

While the decision to sign Tebow was criticized by most of their fans and football analysts, Eagles' vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz said that they saw a different Tim Tebow during a workout last month.

Tebow was in Philadelphia in 2013 when he worked out with the New England Patriots. The Eagles reportedly witnessed those workouts and Marynowitz saw a lot of changes from the Tebow of 2013 to his present form after undergoing training with throwing coach Tom House.

"We worked him out and we saw improvement from the last time that we saw him," Marynowitz said. "We had exposure to him live when he was with New England when they practiced here. When we worked him out, we saw a great deal of improvement with him."

Marynowitz declined to talk about their expectations on Tebow. At this point, he said the former Heisman Trophy winner is a part of their 68-man roster and will have a chance to make the final roster for the 2015 NFL season.

"We've got 68 players that are on our roster right now," Marynowitz added. "Tim's one of 68. He'll have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot here. His role will be determined by his performance. We're excited that he's a member of the organization, and we're looking forward to him competing."

Marynowitz also added that Tebow will compete against other quarterbacks and not against players playing other positions. It remains to be seen if he will get a shot to start as the Eagles traded for Sam Bradford from the St. Louis Rams earlier this year and also inked a new deal with Mark Sanchez.

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